The Trump administration secured a significant legal win on Saturday when the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay in several consolidated lawsuits challenging the administration’s restructuring of a federal media agency.
The decision not only paused lower court rulings against the administration but also laid out a clear framework for how future legal challenges should be evaluated.
At the center of the dispute is Executive Order 14238, signed by President Donald Trump on March 14, 2025. The order directed the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) to reduce its operations to the statutory minimum.
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: HUGE win from Trump Administration and D.C. Circuit enters stay of lower court injunction. Lower court barred Trump Administration from managing Voice of America. D.C. Circuit stayed decision allowing Trump to move forward w/ firings/grant terminations. 1/
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) May 3, 2025
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USAGM oversees federally funded broadcast entities, including Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN).
In response to the order, USAGM placed over 1,000 employees on administrative leave, terminated nearly 600 personal-service contractors, and ended fiscal year 2025 grant agreements with RFA and MBN. The agency also instructed VOA personnel abroad to suspend broadcasting.
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Soon after, multiple lawsuits were filed by USAGM employees, contractors, and grantees.
In one of the lead cases, Judge Royce Lamberth of the D.C. District Court issued a preliminary injunction compelling the administration to roll back its actions.
Specifically, the injunction required USAGM to reinstate employees and contractors to their pre-March 14 status, restore FY 2025 grants to RFA and MBN, and ensure that VOA remains a “consistently reliable and authoritative source of news.” Similar injunctions were issued in related cases.
The Department of Justice appealed those rulings, and the D.C. Circuit granted a stay pending the outcome of the appeal.
In its opinion, the appellate court took the opportunity to clarify jurisdictional limits and remind district courts of the proper legal standards.
The court emphasized three key points:
- First, that disputes over personnel actions fall under the jurisdiction of the Merit Systems Protection Board.
- Second, that disputes over federal grant terminations belong in the Court of Federal Claims, not district courts.
- Third, that issuing broad injunctions without requiring plaintiffs to post a bond could result in irreparable harm to the government.
The ruling comes after a wave of legal challenges filed against President Trump’s efforts to reduce the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy since returning to office in January 2025.
The administration has issued a number of executive actions aimed at limiting government overreach and restructuring federal agencies.
Many of these moves have been met with immediate lawsuits in federal court, often resulting in injunctions that temporarily block implementation.
Legal observers note that Saturday’s appellate decision sends a strong message to lower courts.
By reinforcing jurisdictional boundaries and requiring adherence to established procedural rules, the D.C. Circuit reminded judges that their role is to interpret and apply the law—not to function as political counterweights to executive policy.
The Trump administration hailed the decision as a step forward in restoring constitutional balance and limiting judicial overreach.
The Department of Justice has not yet issued an official statement but is expected to argue the case on appeal in the coming months.
Legal analysts anticipate that the decision could influence how other courts handle similar lawsuits brought against the administration’s policy changes, particularly those concerning executive authority over federal staffing and grantmaking.
As litigation continues to unfold across the country, the D.C. Circuit’s ruling will likely serve as a foundational reference point for federal judges, attorneys, and litigants navigating disputes over the reach of executive power.
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